In a new series of dinners taking place around Charlotte, black chefs in the city aim to put an end to stereotypes and show their range in the kitchen. A recent Soul Food Sessions dinner explored African food with six African-American chefs working in the south cooking together for the meal. The black chefs knew they would be stereotyped and guests would expect them to cook soul food, and so they did. Each chef is profiled, their reasons for cooking are shared, and the reason for the dish selection is detailed.

After looking at cookbooks from the 1960s and 1970s, Cat Carter found a recipe for country-style steak that dated to 1752 and came from the Fishing Creek Presbyterian Church in Chester County. Carter details how she then went to the church to ask about their food culture and history and what the congregation members shared with her. The recipes detail the food culture and history of the south over the past couple three centuries.

Charlotte is on pace for more than 100 homicides for the first time in nearly a quarter-century. The reasons for the rise in crime are struggling to be explained. Reasons may be linked to the rise in the epidemic of heroin and opioid addiction, less aggressive police tactics, a decline in incarceration rates, or any combination of all, some, or none of these reasons.

President Donald Trump’s travel ban has had an effect on the refugee community in Charlotte. A family of six from Homs in Syria fled the country but was stranded at the airport after the first travel ban went into effect. The Osama and his family eventually made it to Charlotte and they describe the anxiety and problems that came with the travel ban. Despite the problems, Osama is positive about the future and the opportunities he and his family will find in America.

A photoessay depicts four families at different stages in their transition from refugee to American citizen or resident. Hari Dhimal from Bhutan, Muwafak and his family from Syria, the A. Family from Syria, and the K. Family from Iraq all describe their transition and their lives in America.